Electrooxidation of Ferrocene in Nano-emulsion

Nano-emulsion, a kinetically stable system of nanosized oil droplets in water has been numerously used as a medium for biological and medicinal processes. It is also used as a solubilizing medium for compounds or molecules that are insoluble or poorly soluble in aqueous medium in addition to its use as a penetration enhancer in dermatological processes. Ferrocene, a metallocene that is known to be quite insoluble in aqueous medium is liberally soluble in the prepared oil-in-water nano-emulsion. In this medium, ferrocene undergoes a quasi-reversible reaction process and its relevant electrochemical kinetic parameters such as the heterogeneous rate constant, k_o, the formal redox potential, E^o, the half-wave potential, E^1/2, the electron transfer coefficient, α, and its diffusion coefficient, D, are determined in this medium. These important electrochemical parameters including the observed current function have been used to formulate a plausible mechanism for the oxidation of ferrocene in the formulated nano-emulsion.